The Auburn site of Printing Industries (pictured) has been successfully sold "for a good price" clearing the way for the peak industry body to transit to new offices in Chatswood.
New CEO, Jason Allen says he wants the new, modern offices in the aptly named, Help Street, Chatswood, to be a “ home away from home for our members. We’ll have hot desks to allow members from interstate or even from the other side of the city, to work in our offices. There is a car park and good public transport,” he said. “We want it to be their office, not just for us. We got a good price for the Auburn building. We were very lucky and that’s good for the industry.”
The shift will see the organisation return to the North Shore, not far from the long-term St Leonard’s offices it vacated in the 1990s.
Allen signalled a shift to a more proactive engagement with members not only in New South Wales but throughout the country. Association offices are being rented out in the various capital cities to allow state managers to better engage with members.
“Almost a half of them [offices] are rented out now and we want to carry that forward. Our officers will be spending more time on the road meeting members, because that’s what they should be doing,” he said.
The reinvigorated Association has not come without cost following a raft of resignations and redundancies. Allen has described the changes as a response to requests from members. “There’s no elephant in the room. It’s quite normal for an association to go through this process,’ he said.